Phil Perry joins Arbella Early Edition to lay out what he’s heard about the Patriots new Offensive Coordinator, Alex Van Pelt, and if he brings more pros than cons to the Patriots.
The New England Patriots' offseason began with a monumental coaching change -- and that might only be the beginning.
The Patriots parted ways with Bill Belichick on Jan. 11 after a 24-year partnership, then named Jerod Mayo their new head coach the following day. After five seasons as a position coach in New England, Mayo will be tasked with filling Belichick's massive shoes and turning around a team that just suffered its worst season since 1992.
But several questions remain, most notably this: Who will be on Mayo's staff in 2024?
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While Mayo could choose to keep many of the Patriots' position coaches, it wouldn't be surprising to see some change -- especially on offense, where the team tied for last in the NFL in 2023 at 13.9 points scored per game.
Below is a roundup of all the latest news surrounding the Patriots' coaching staff. We'll update as more news comes out, with the most recent reports on top.
Tuesday, Feb. 13: New York Jets running backs coach Taylor Embree will leave to join the Patriots for the same position, per CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.
Thursday, Feb. 8: Patriots cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino will resume his role with the team in 2024, per ESPN's Mike Reiss.
Wednesday, Feb. 7: Despite his father's departure, Brian Belichick will be back on the Patriots coaching staff in 2024.
Wednesday, Feb. 7: The Patriots are hiring an assistant coach with offensive line experience in Cleveland Browns assistant offensive line coach Scott Peters, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston.
Wednesday, Feb. 7: The Patriots appear to have their new quarterbacks coach in T.C. McCartney, who worked with new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt in Cleveland as the Browns' tight ends coach.
Tuesday, Feb. 6: Ben McAdoo is set to join the Patriots as an offensive assistant coach, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday. The MMQB's Albert Breer first reported that New England was working to hire McAdoo.
Monday, Feb. 5: The Patirots are hiring Green Bay Packers defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery to serve a similar role in New England, ESPN's Rob Demovsky reports.
Monday, Feb. 5: The Patriots interviewed Green Bay Packers defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery for a position on their defensive staff, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.
Monday, Feb. 5: Patriots running backs coach Vinnie Sunseri is expected to follow Steve Belichick to be an assistant at the University of Washington, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reports.
Monday, Feb. 5: Patriots outside linebackers coach and defensive play-caller Steve Belichick has accepted the University of Washington's defensive coordinator job, ESPN's Field Yates reported Monday morning. The Athletic's Bruce Feldman was the first to report that Belichick and Washington had mutual interest.
Belichick (the son of former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick) worked with new Washington head coach Jedd Fisch in 2020 when Fisch was New England's quarterbacks coach.
Sunday, Feb. 4: The Patriots are "in talks" to hire former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo on their offensive coaching staff, The MMQB's Albert Breer reports.
Friday, Feb. 2: Patriots outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick and running backs coach Vinnie Sunseri are interviewing for defensive assistant coach jobs at the University of Washington, which just hired former Patriots QB coach Jedd Fisch as its new head coach, ESPN's Field Yates reports.
Thursday, Feb. 1: The Patriots are hiring Alex Van Pelt as their offensive coordinator, according to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero.
Wednesday, Jan. 31: The Patriots have a new special teams coach. New England is hiring Rams assistant special teams coach Jeremy Springer to lead its special teams unit, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reports.
Tuesday, Jan. 30: Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson is no longer a candidate for the Patriots' offensive coordinator job as he will remain with Houston, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
Monday, Jan. 29: A pair of coaching updates from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer: San Francisco 49ers pass game coordinator Klint Kubiak recently interviewed for the Patriots' OC job, while New England also plans to interview Las Vegas Raiders pass game coordinator Scott Turner as well.
Breer also noted that Rams assistant special teams coach Jeremy Springer had a second interview for New England's special teams coordinator role.
Sunday, Jan. 28: Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley is "viewed by some close to the process as well-positioned" to be the Patriots' next offensive coordinator, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports. Caley has a second interview set for Sunday, per reports.
Saturday, Jan. 27: Zac Robinson is not coming to the Patriots. He's joining the Falcons as their new offensive coordinator.
Saturday, Jan. 27: The Patriots are likely to hire defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington into the team's Defensive Coordinator position, according to a report from Albert Breer.
Saturday, Jan. 27: Add two more candidates to the Patriots' offensive coach search; New England is set to interview former Chicago Bears OC Luke Getsy (per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler) and already interviewed San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach Brian Fleury (according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero).
Friday, Jan. 26: The Patriots will host Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley for an in-person interview Sunday for their offensive coordinator job, according to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero. Caley had a Zoom interview with New England earlier this week, per our Phil Perry.
Friday, Jan. 26: The Patriots plan to interview Detroit Lions pass game coordinator Tanner Engstrand, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reports.
Before joining the Lions in 2021, Engstrand served as an offensive analyst for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan in 2018 and the offensive coordinator for the XFL's DC Defenders in 2020.
Friday, Jan. 26: Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown recently interviewed for the Patriots' offensive coordinator opening, CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reports.
Brown spent three seasons with Sean McVay's Los Angeles Rams as a running backs coach and tight ends coach before becoming the Panthers' OC in 2023.
Friday, Jan. 26: Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson has interviewed for the Patriots' offensive coordinator job in addition to several other OC openings, per CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.
Johnson, 35, has been an NFL assistant since 2017 and worked with the San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings before coming to Houston in 2023 and having success with standout rookie QB C.J. Stroud.
Thursday, Jan. 25: Former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is seen as a "strong candidate" to join Mayo's staff in a similar role, or follow Bill Belichick elsewhere if he lands another head coaching job, the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan reports.
Wednesday, Jan. 24: Gerald Alexander is no longer a candidate for the Patriots' defensive coordinator position as he has joined the Las Vegas Raiders as their safeties coach, per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media.
Wednesday, Jan. 24: We can cross Dan Pitcher off the list of potential Pats offensive coordinator candidates as he has taken the Bengals' OC job, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
Tuesday, Jan. 23: Patriots defensive line coach Demarcus Covington is "a strong favorite" to land the team's defensive coordinator job, per The MMQB's Albert Breer.
Breer also reported that Pittsburgh Steelers assistant defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander interviewed for the Patriots' defensive coordinator job, while former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron interviewed for New England's OC job before taking the same role with the Chicago Bears.
Monday, Jan. 22: Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher is set to interview for the Patriots' offensive coordinator position on Tuesday, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
Monday, Jan. 22: The Raiders and Steelers also will interview Zac Robinson, per The MMQB's Albert Breer, so it appears the Patriots have some competition for his services.
Sunday, Jan. 21: Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Zac Robinson will interview for the Patriots' vacant offensive coordinator position on Tuesday, per The MMQB's Albert Breer.
Sunday, Jan 21: Rams tight ends Coach Nick Caley is scheduled to interview for the offensive coordinator position in New England on Monday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Caley spent eight seasons with the Patriots from 2015 to 2022, overlapping with both Mayo the player (2015) and Mayo the assistant coach (2019 to 2022).
Saturday, Jan. 20: Former New York Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey has interviewed for the Patriots' special teams coordinator job, ESPN's Jordan Ranaan reports.
McCaughey led the Giants' special teams for six seasons before he was fired earlier this month after New York finished 21st in the NFL in special teams DVOA.
MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE
Friday, Jan. 19: The Patriots will interview defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington for their defensive coordinator position, according to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.
Friday, Jan. 19: The Patriots have set up an interview for their special teams coach job, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Friday, Jan. 19: The Patriots are going to interview a pair of NFC South coaches for their defensive coordinator job, per NFL Network reports.
Thursday, Jan. 18: The Patriots officially need a new offensive coordinator. Ohio State is set to hire Bill O'Brien as its new offensive coordinator, ESPN's Pete Thamel reports.
Wednesday, Jan. 17: The Patriots have named Robyn Glaser the executive vice president of football business and senior advisor to the head coach, our Phil Perry confirms. Glaser previously served as the senior vice president of business affairs and chief administrative and compliance officer for the Patriots.
Wednesday, Jan. 17: While Bill O'Brien is the incumbent offensive coordinator, Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal reports it's his "sense" that the Patriots will hire a new OC in 2024. Giardi sees O'Brien either following Bill Belichick to his next destination or pursuing another head coach job, either in college or the NFL.
Monday, Jan. 15: The Patriots requested to interview Atlanta Falcons special teams coach Marquice Williams for their special teams position, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
Monday, Jan. 15: Mayo is set to interview Panthers outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu for New England's defensive coordinator role, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reports.
Lukabu worked on the staffs of Boston College, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers (among others) before coming to Carolina in 2023.
Monday, Jan. 15: Bill Belichick's two sons -- Patriots linebackers coach Steve Belichick and safeties coach Brian Belichick -- have been offered the opportunity to stay on Mayo's staff in 2024, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reports.
Monday, Jan. 15: The Patriots are expected to conduct a "wide open search" at offensive coordinator, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported on NBC Sports Boston's Sports Sunday.
According to Breer, Patriots ownership is "empowering" Mayo to lead that search, which should include incumbent Bill O'Brien as well as ex-Patriots OC Josh McDaniels.
